The NIHR Imperial BRC Gut Health Theme exploits entirely novel areas of experimental gastroenterology. Imbalances in the gut microbiome contribute to a number of pathologies, such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), pouchitis, obesity and allergies. Building upon exciting new advances in microbial signalling and functionality, this Theme operates in close partnership with the NIHR Imperial BRC’s Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) to integrate and model multi-omic data for patient stratification, as well as identify novel therapeutic interventions through harnessing the power of the microbiome in patients with inflammatory diseases of the gut. Our current areas of research are summarised below.
Metabolic and microbial characterisation of IBD
As current therapeutic approaches in treatment of IBD are ineffective in approximately 30% of cases, our in-depth analysis of the microbiome and the metabolome of IBD patients aims to identify actionable biomarkers for improved clinical management of the disease. We are combining expertise in both metabolic phenotyping of biofluids and next generation sequencing of stool samples to establish the composition and functional capacity of the microbiome in IBD.
Microbiome-driven patient stratification for cancer risk prediction
The risk of developing colon cancer is increased in IBD patients, and we are retrospectively analysing IBD biopsies and peripheral biofluids available in our tissue biobanks using a range of new surgical and analytical technologies, to establish bacterial or metabolic markers of susceptibility to colorectal cancer. This will allow better stratification of patients at risk, and will establish microbially-driven inflammatory cascades involved in GI disease and oncogenesis.
Nutritional strategies for management of IBD
Environment, lifestyle, diet and genetic factors play a key role in the increased prevalence of IBD. We are in process of broadly investigating the impact of dietary interventions on IBD expression and management. Improvement in nutritional support for IBD patients taking into account diet-microbiome interactions has the potential to beneficially mediate disease progression.
Extreme IBD phenotypes
We currently have access to large clinical cohorts of well-phenotyped patients, capturing cases that manifest particularly aggressive disease paths, where treatments are of varying efficacy and cost. We aim to enrol and follow 200 patients with IBD, using a combination of traditional metrics of disease and the metabolic and microbial phenotyping resources available through the Clinical Phenome Centre (cross cutting Molecular Phenomics theme), in order to address the role of the microbiome and its metabolic influences in IBD treatment.
Key Individuals
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Professor Gary Frost
Theme Lead, Gut Health -
Professor Mark Thursz
NIHR Imperial BRC Director -
Dr Alexander von Roon
Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon -
Dr Benjamin Mullish
Clinical Research Fellow -
Dr David MacIntyre
MRC-CDA Fellow & Lecturer in Reproductive Systems Medicine -
Dr Horace Williams
Consultant Gastroenterologist -
Dr Isabel Garcia-Perez
Lecturer in Precision & Systems Medicine -
Dr James Maurice
Clinical Research Fellow -
Dr Jia Li
Lecturer in Human Development and Microbial Signalling -
Dr Jonathan Hoare
Consultant Gastroenterologist -
Dr Jonathan Swann
Senior Lecturer in Microbiomics and Human Development -
Dr Julie McDonald
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Dr Lesley Hoyles
MRC Intermediate Fellow in Data Science -
Dr Nikihl Vergis
Clinical Research Fellow -
Dr Sarah Butcher
Head of Bioinformatics Support Service -
Dr. Joram Posma
Research Associate -
Prof Julian Marchesi
Professor of Digestive Health -
Professor Ailsa Hart
Consultant Gastroenterologist -
Professor Elaine Holmes
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Professor Huw Thomas
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Professor Kevin Murphy
Reader in Endocrinology -
Professor Marc-Emmanuel Dumas
Reader in Translational Systems Medicine -
Professor Paris Tekkis
Professor of Colorectal Surgery -
Professor Robert Glen
Chair in Computational Medicine -
Professor Timothy Orchard
Professor of Gastroenterology
